The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1887-11-06
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A miesihs, but important chapter In tn,
history Of our civil war has at last been sup
piled By Col 6Soson W. WILLIAMS In strik
ing and Trustworthy account Of the Negro
zyoops IN hs Rebellion tHarpsrsl The mate
rails Of this narrative are derived from oficia
records. supplemented and illuminated b.
such light a. II cast By the principal histories
Of tho war. the published recolleotions Of III
chief actors, and tho nles OF contemporary
newspapers. These materials have been veri.
hsd and siftod with an amount Of caro- and
candor that reflect high credit on the author
and the resultant facts are grouped. projected,
and interpreted with q truly noteworthy de-
gree OF literary skill No honest reader OF this
volume will deny that Col Williams has
demonstrated ut one stroke that the negro
race possesses not only the gifts Of soldier,
bnt those Of judicial expoundsr OF events
and Of an accomplished man OF letters
In some preliminary chapters Col Williams
recalls the military services OF negro soldiers
IN ancisnt and modern times. The facts col
lected In this summary are unfamiliar to most
students, and they are therefore curious and
lnterestins IN Themselves. besides serving the
phrposs Of clearing the readers mind from
pfejudice before his approach to the body OF
tho narrative. We arc reminded, for example.
that, ACCORDING to inscriptions belonging to
the sixth Egyptian dynasty, large numbers Of
nAgro troops were enlisted BY the Pharaohs
Ii that epoch tsay 1900 B. on and were
victorious III Ave successive campaigns. Il
n reasonable inference that, as they
deserved, 90 they received the honor Of en-
rnllmsnt In the military caste. Again. In
tho records relating to the nineteenth
dynasty We encounter negro soldiers, and
they formed the strength Of the army Of
shishak whom. B. O. OIL. he marched against
Rshoboam. In tho delineation Of his army on
the walls Of his tomb. opened In 1s49. were
perfect representatives Of the negro race In
respect OF color. physioGnomy. and hair. There
were also negro soldiers in the army OF xerxes.
and No may add twhat Col Williams has
omitted to msntion) that there are frequent
allusions to their employment, and to the
high position attained By their officers In
the annals Of the Abbsssid, Fatimido, and
Spanish caiiphates. Indeed. owing to their
reputation for loyalty and courage they were
frequently chosen for the body guards OF the
Commander Of the Faithful.
The part taken by negro soldiers IN thelRevo-
lutionary war is considered at some length. al
though there 10 . current impression that this
was confined to the preliminary struggles,
after which majority Of the States forbade
their enlistment.
II IN well known that 1t was at the hands
d . negro private soldier, Peter Salem.
that Major Pitcairn met his death In the baltic
d Bunker Hill; and OF another negro private.
f6uttsen American officers, In memorial ad-
desc to Congress. declared he had behaved In
battle a. an experienced officer as well as
brave aud gallant soldier. They submitted to
NAur ~hn q HuA y0vd h<a
given to 80 great and distinguished charac-
ter" Notwithstanding. moreover. the un-
friendly attitude OF most OF the provin-
cial authorities Congress, In January. 1776,
dive permission to the free negroes Of Massa-
ahusstts to rocnlist In the Continental army at
Cambridge. That q like policy must have been
pursued elsewhere seems clear from the fact
that the oflcial return Of Washington's army.
two months after the battle OF Monmouth. In
GUIDED 7S5 negroes. Rather less than a year
x(terwArd Congress enacted a law enabling
South Carolina to raise and arm 5000 negroes,
sud commissioned John Lnurens to be the
Lisutsnant-C Colonel Of black regiment. This
particular experiment failed for the reason, a.
Cbl. Laurens wrote. that the single voice Of
reason was drowned by the howlings Of triple
headed monster in which prejudice. avarioe.
and pusillanimity were united" In Connecti-
cut, besides the FREQ negroes scattered among
Tie white troops, there was . company
Consisting exclusively OF slaves attached
to one regiment In Rhode Island, during
the year ITS. four companies Of slaves were
enrolled as soldiers. and thereupon set free at
the cost OF the State. Tho example Of Rhode
Island led Massachusetts, to reconsider its OBJ
jections to the enlistment Of blacks, but here
no separate negro company was raised. We
may add that even In the Virginia regiments
flee negroes had enlisted, although there was
no law sanctioning tho acceptance OF their ser
Woes. It results from close examination OF
the rolls Of the Continental army that 1t in
cauded. at one time or another. 5000 negro SOL
disrs. Nor should the fact be overlooked that
considerable numbers Of blacks were enlisted
on the British side BY Lord Dunmore in vir-
anis, and by Sir Henry Clinton and other Gem
erals In Georgia and South Carolina
In abiding to the employment Of black SOL
diers during the French revolution. Col. VIII
Hams points out the difficulty Of tracing their
services, owing to the fact that French military
~titers regarded their presence in the army as
natural and normal. He touches, however. ON
the memorable case OF Alexandra Dumas, the
lllsgitimste son OF the Marquis de 10 Pailleterie
by negro mother. who. as early as Sept II,
110S. had risen from the ranks to DO General of
Division. II was he who. at the battle OF Brix-
tho enemy. and who. In recognition Of this feat
81 arms, was presented to the Directory BY Bo-
naparte as the Horatius Coolies Of the Tyrol
We arc also bldden to remember that Tous-
saint L'0uverture received In reauital Of his
military services the commission OF Brigadier-
General from King Charles Nv. Of Spain. and
was subsequently appointed by the French
Government COMMUNICATIVE chief Of the army
Of San Domingo. In the extended sketch OF
HOhverturs We note one or two oversights
q. for instance. the assertion that Pauline
Bonsparte. the wife Of Gen. Lsolsro. persisted
Of foyer on the island. She lived to return to
Europe and tn marry another husband.
Touching the participation Of negroes in the
var OF 1879. we find that Gen. Jackson appeal
cd to the free blacks OF Louisiana in Septem-
bsr. 1914, to Join his army. There was a con-
siderable contingent OF free negroes present at
tAe battle Of New Orleans During the same
war tho Legislature OF New York authorized
the Incorporation Of two regiments Of free
negroes. and II appears that In this State and
Pennsylvania. over 800 Of such recruits had by
July. 1915. been mustered into tho service